ABSTRACT
Taking an inductive approach, this chapter reviews research on self, identity, cultural identity, and African American cultural identity. The authors state at the very beginning that the book’s interpretive approach is one that prioritizes code, conversation, and community as touchstones that focus the discussion of African American communication on those facets that influence human interaction. The core of this chapter is that identities are exchanged in everyday human interaction with others. By stating this the authors ground the reader in a particular way of reading the text. Everything in this book in some way impinges on identity. This emphasis on self-definition works to provide parameters on different discussions of communication. Language is not just about symbols and codes. It is about ways in which symbols and codes are birthed through cultural norms and sustained via one’s identity.
